Electrical assemblies produce heat that must be dissipated from the circuitry to allow the electrical components to operate within a preferred temperature range. High power electrical components are often directly mounted to a heat sink that thermally conducts the heat to another place for dissipation. The dissipation of the heat often is by way of convection or radiation methods. Additionally, cooling fans may be incorporated to enhance the convection cooling of the assembly. The sophistication of electrical circuitry has increased and more electronic features are positioned in smaller spaces, thereby requiring the conduction of heat from the circuitry. In some cases liquid coolants are used to cool the electrical components to remove the heat therefrom.
Heat sink design is customized to accommodate the electrical circuitry, thereby requiring unique heat sinks for each electrical assembly. This leads to a great investment in the original design and when the electrical functions are changed this often leads to a need to replace the entire heat sink.
What is needed in the art is a flexible heat sink assembly method to reduce the obsolescence of housing heat sink assemblies.